About

Catacombs & Castles

CA$ 360,785

pledged of CA$ 25,000 goal

2,738

backers

Catacombs & Castles relates the story of Larra the Huntress' journey to the region of Tellaryth, searching for clues to the whereabouts of her missing wolf companion. This land is governed by four mysterious matriarchs who jealously guard their powers and secrets, frequently from other each. Larra becomes involved with the desperate defence of Castle Mivorih from an invading army of undead warriors. They seem intent on capturing the mysterious keystone from the Hmikad arch, which helps support the east wall of the main keep of the castle. That Xaugorth, evil leader of the Wraith Knights, was motivated to leave his underground lair may be the bigger mystery. Perhaps the tales are true and one of the matriarchs has finally gone too far...

Catacombs & Castles is a new fast paced, standalone title from Elzra Games serving as an introduction to the Catacombs™ universe. This tabletop game features both cooperative and competitive play styles keeping all players engaged. For the first time, it will be possible to play as heroes on the “Catacomb” team versus a "Castle" team of heroes. In the cooperative style of play, players will be able to take command of a team of heroes to work together to defeat a powerful Catacomb or Castle Lord controlled by an “Overseer”. Player elimination is completely optional and there is strong support for two player setups.

Catacombs & Castles cover artwork

The game is based on Elzra’s Dexterity Game System, so if players are familiar with Catacombs™ Third Edition, the learning curve will be minimal. Catacombs & Castles will emphasize a streamlined rule set and fast play time with new mechanics. Heroes and Lords from both the Catacomb and Castle teams can seamlessly be used when playing Catacombs Third Edition. Catacombs & Castles will also be compatible with the upcoming Wyverns of Wylemuir expansion.

And of course, we have left some room in case great ideas from the community emerge during this Kickstarter and it is feasible for us to incorporate them.

German publisher Schwerkraft-Verlag is once again developing a German language version that can be backed during this campaign: Katakomben & Kastelle.

Finally, the talented Kwanchai Moriya returns to produce the illustrations for the game.

Catacombs & Castles Characters

The following table summarizes the differences between Catacombs & Castles and Catacombs Third Edition.

Catacombs & Castles VS Catacombs Third Edition

Final content subject to change

Catacombs & Castles is designed to be quick to setup and learn so players can jump right into an encounter. The game may be played in two ways: cooperatively and competitively with player elimination being optional. Players choose heroes from either the brave Castle defenders (referred to as the “Castle team”) or the mercenary invaders from the underground realm (referred to as the “Catacomb team”).

Catacombs & Castles uses Elzra’s Dexterity Game System where players skillfully flick their discs representing their chosen hero across the game board using obstacle pieces for cover and trick shots.

Flicking the fireball Ranged disc

These are either “Melee” shots (which inflict damage) or “Rush” shots (which do not). Some heroes may use “Ranged” shots (such as fireballs) enabling them to hit adversaries from a safe distance. In the case of the fireball, that piece would be flicked from the location of the hero disc instead of the hero disc itself. Some heroes can place “Shield” pieces on the game board, which provide additional protection.

Icons on cards indicate which shots a hero can use (Melee, Rush etc). Sets of shots are combined into “Sequences” (the “->” icon indicates this) and dictates the order in which the shots must be performed. Finally, all heroes have “Ability” cards they may use strategically once per game.

Cooperative play involves a team of three heroes from either the “Catacomb team” or “Castle team” using their skills and abilities to combat a player acting as the “Overseer” who controls either a “Catacomb Lord” (facing Castle team heroes) or a “Castle Lord” (facing Catacomb team heroes). These Lords can call upon reinforcements in the form of stalwart minions to assist them. During the battle, a Lord may transform into a different, possibly more challenging form.

The heroes collectively win the game if they are able to use their attacks to eliminate all of the Lord’s “health tokens”. Conversely, if the heroes lose all of their team’s health tokens then the Overseer player wins.

In competitive play, the Castle and Catacomb heroes are divided into two teams with either a common pool of health tokens (a game with no player elimination) or health tokens assigned to each hero according to their starting health value. Each team strives to be the last one standing in an intense, arena style skirmish.

Many aspects of Catacombs & Castles may be customized to suit different play styles. The amount of starting health tokens is adjustable, ensuring a quick game. Conversely, it is possible for heroes to have their own set of health tokens assigned to them.

Finally, the heroes and Lords from Catacombs and Castles can be used in Catacombs Third Edition. The Catacomb heroes can be sent to explore the depths beneath Stormtryne: mercenaries aren’t fussy about where they find their treasure.

The Keystones & Keeps content expansion is expected to add three new Castle heroes and three "evil" versions of classic Catacomb heroes. The set also includes two deluxe heroes: the Querlossus on the Castle Team and the Werewolf on the Catacomb Team.

These new heroes are expected to be compatible with Catacombs Third Edition.

The Wraith Knight family of monsters along with new items and spells for Catacombs Third Edition are expected to be included in this expansion as well.

More importantly, the expansion is expected to include a new square game board (size: 18x18”, 45.7cm x 45.7cm). As this game board is slightly smaller than the main Catacombs & Castles board (20x20”. 50.8cm x 50.8cm), this single sided board will focus on the "pits", large holes die-cut into the surface, and the "bridge" between them.

We are planning to include "fill cards" that can be placed under two large die cut holes, such that the "pits" can represent different environments and hazards each time you play.

Thematically this game board is designed to represent the daring rescue of the keystone by an intrepid group of heroes during the construction of the keep of the castle.

Deluxe Heroes: the Werewolf and the Querlossus

The Keystones & Keeps expansion will include "evil versions" of some of the iconic heroes from Catacombs Third Edition. They will join the Catacomb Team in the struggle to invade the castle and secure the keystone.
Keystones & Keeps will include new hero portrait and rules card for these "evil" catacomb themed heroes. These heroes are:

Xoric The Barbarian

Oleira The Elf

Aprill The Fire Mage

Keystones & Keeps expansion

The Keystones & Keeps expansion is available during this Kickstarter campaign and will not be sold at retail; however it will continue to be made available from our online store (at a higher price) after campaign fulfillment has been completed.

Keystones & Keeps will be translated into the German language by Schwerkraft-Verlag. The German title is Festen & Verliese.

Festen & Verliese expansion

Catacombs & Castles base game and/or Catacombs Third Edition base game is required to play with this content.

Catacombs™ is Elzra’s award-winning, dexterity dungeon crawl board game set in the fantasy world of Cimathue. As a cooperative game, one player (the Overseer) marshals an army of monsters while the other players choose one of six brave heroes.

Catacombs Third Edition cover artwork

They embark on a quest to save the town of Stormtryne from the threat lurking in the catacombs below. In Catacombs, players flick wooden discs representing the monsters and heroes across one of six dungeon game boards. Contact with an opposing disc may inflict damage or produce a special effect. Smaller discs, representing ranged shots, can be used to simulate a hero firing arrows or fireballs. It is possible to perform trick shots by bouncing discs off of obstacles mounted into the game board. When all of the monsters of a room have been eliminated, the heroes can move further into the catacomb. As the heroes explore, they must use their abilities, buy items from the Merchant, and recruit allies from the Inn to help them defeat the monsters, before facing the powerful Catacomb Lord boss in its lair.

Catacombs Final Thoughts by: Rahdo

Catacombs Third Edition content

The immersive Cavern of Soloth expansion introduces a new cast of heroes including the powerful Paladin, mysterious Sorceress, and fan favorite the Witch Hunter on a new quest to prevent the resurrection of the ancient vampire lord, Soloth. For this edition, two new heroes, the Dwarf and the Centaur Warrior, were added to the roster.

Cavern of Soloth expansion cover artwork

Four challenging Catacomb Lords including the Hydra and the Queen of the Underworld, will have players reaching for the Vampire Sword, Warhammer and other powerful item and ability cards included in this set.

Additional room cards with combinations of new monsters and the "flame obstacle discs" round out the experience.

Catacombs Third Edition base game is required to play. Heroes from Cavern of Soloth may be used when playing with Catacombs & Castles.

These three "Resurrection Packs" represent all of the exclusive material that was made available during the Catacombs Third Edition Kickstarter campaign. The stretch goal material was released under the name Crypt of Shaurath. By popular demand, and the consent of our previous backers, we are reprinting this material, making it available to backers of this campaign.

Packs 1 and 2 have content that is compatible with Catacombs & Castles (for example: all the heroes); however Catacombs Third Edition is required in some cases (for example: the Zombie monsters). Pack 3 (the Ice Cavern / Quartz Grotto game board) definitely requires Catacombs Third Edition.

Catacombs 2014 Kickstarter Exclusive Material

To receive all the Catacombs Third Edition Kickstarter exclusive material at once, pledge for the Queen of Storms or Matriarch reward levels (note: this includes the Catacombs Third Edition base game).

These Resurrection Packs will be available separately during the Pledge Manager; however they cannot be subdivided further (example: you cannot buy the Zombie Horde by itself). Furthermore, you must back for a Vampire Princess or better reward level during the campaign to be eligible to purchase one or more of the Resurrection Packs during the Pledge Manager.

German language backers who would like this material, please back the Huntress German language reward level and then add your desired Resurrection Packs during the Pledge Manager.

This chart graphically summarizes what a backer would receive for each reward level.

Catacombs & Castles Reward Levels Chart

During the Pledge Manager you will be able to upgrade and/or add the Resurrection Packs. Note that you can you purchase the Resurrection Packs only if you pledged at a reward level that includes a base game(Catacombs Third Edition OR Catacombs & Castles). Some of the Resurrection Packs require Catacombs Third Edition.

Other terms and conditions related to the Pledge Manager are subject to change.

Stretch goals will be unlocked during the campaign and will be included in the rewards for backers at all pledge levels. Content from the stretch goals will be available from Elzra's online store after the campaign fulfillment is completed. We reserve the right to make certain stretch goals completely Kickstarter exclusive and these will be indicated as such when the goal is unlocked.

We appreciate your support: let's see if we can get as many goals unlocked as possible! The more people that support the project, the more goals get unlocked, the more value we can squeeze in!

Please, please, do not use Kickstarter messaging to contact us. We have implemented a new help desk and support ticket system that allows us to process your requests much more efficiently.

Please email: ks@elzra.com

Please note also that we cannot and will not respond to specific customer support requests on the comments page of this project. We take pride in our excellent customer service, and aim to deal with requests as quickly and efficiently as possible when using channels that we have setup for this purpose. Note that sometimes we will receive a large volume of requests, so please be patient while we work through them.

Follow the campaign via Twitter at @catacombsgameand use the hashtag #catacombscastles. Tweets from this account are for our Kickstarter campaigns specifically, while those from our @elzragames account are for general company announcements.

Shipping will be charged after the Kickstarter campaign ends through the Pledge Manager. The amount charged will be based on the actual cost required to pack and ship you your reward including unlocked stretch goals. We're planning to fulfill from fulfillment centres in Canada Germany, Australia and Hong Kong.

Backers in Canada: we expect to offer a local pickup option for backers who want to stop by our warehouse in Hamilton, Ontario. Also, GST or HST (depending on which is applicable) will be charged to your pledge.

The prices in these charts are estimates! Factors such as currency fluctuations could affect the prices you see here.

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IMPORTANT: Any English languages pledges confirmed after our Pledge Manager deadline window, will be shipped from Canada at a later date and will lead to increased shipping costs for which you will be responsible. Estimates for these costs are below.

Please note, we cannot ship to the following destinations:
Syria, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, North Korea, and Venezuela.

Risks and challenges

This is our second Kickstarter project, the first being for the highly successful tabletop dexterity game: Catacombs Third Edition.

An unforeseen challenge of our last campaign was the severe drop in the value of the Canadian dollar as the majority of our costs are in US dollars. We are exploring currency hedging to mitigate this risk.

For this campaign, we have setup a new customer support system, signed new commercial shipping agreements and are using a Pledge Manager to mitigate miscommunication related to shipping address changes.

We are fully aware of potential delays that may happen with products that are produced overseas: printer production schedules, major holidays, shipping, and customs delays. We will work diligently to minimize these types of disruptions and promise to communicate transparently with our backers if they occur.

We have estimated the delivery for November 2016; however due to the global logistics involved in shipping, some regions may receive their rewards sooner than others.

We have prepared as much as possible for a successful project, however we will refund pledges if for some unforeseen circumstance the product cannot be produced and/or delivered at all.

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Refunds
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Refunds may be given within 60 days of the campaign ending, including fees. After this time, refunds may be given minus the Kickstarter and payment processing fees due to us not being able to claim them back after 60 days.

We are unable to issue refunds if we have begun the packaging and shipment stages of the project.

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Terms
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If you do not confirm your shipping and pledge details within ten weeks of our notification via email, we will consider it abandoned.

By pledging on this Kickstarter campaign you agree that our responsibility to you is for shipping your reward as entered into our Pledge Manager. You are responsible for import or other fees that may be payable to relevant tax authorities. You also accept that you are fully liable for incorrect shipping details and will risk your pledge being unable to be delivered or lost in transit. You acknowledge that the final look and contents of your reward may be different from what is presented at the start of the campaign.

Please do not pledge for this Kickstarter and wait for the retail release, if you do not accept these proposed terms.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 99 or more
About $76

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CAD approximately $75 USD

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Huntress Level [Castles ALL-IN] – At this level you will receive one copy of Catacombs & Castles base game, one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion, a set of barrier walls and all unlocked stretch goals.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our pledge manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 99 or more
About $76

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CAD approximately $75 USD

GERMAN LANGUAGE Huntress Level [Castles ALL-IN] -- At this level you will receive one copy of Catacombs & Castles base game (GERMAN LANGUAGE VERSION), one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion, a set of barrier walls and all unlocked stretch goals.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our pledge manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 129 or more
About $99

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CAD approximately $99 USD

Watch Commander Level – At this level you will receive one copy of Catacombs & Castles base game (equivalent to the Vampire Princess pledge level), one copy of Catacombs™ 3rd Edition base game and all unlocked stretch goals.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our pledge manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 139 or more
About $107

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CAD approximately $106 USD

Ranger Level [Castles ALL-IN PLUS Cavern of Soloth expansion] – At this level you will receive one copy of Catacombs & Castles base game, one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion, a set of barrier walls and all unlocked stretch goals.
PLUS Cavern of Soloth Third Edition expansion for Catacombs Third Edition (that has always included 6 heroes!)

Shipping will be calculated separately through our pledge manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 169 or more
About $130

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CAD approximately $132 USD
Assassin Level – At this level you will receive one copy of Catacombs & Castles base game, one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion, one copy of Catacombs™ 3rd Edition base game (includes a set of barrier walls) and all unlocked stretch goals.
Shipping will be calculated separately through our pledge manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 199 or more
About $153

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CANADIAN DOLLAR approximately $152 USD

Wraith Knight Big Box Level – At this level you will receive one copy of the Catacombs & Castles base game, one copy of the Catacombs™ 3rd Edition base game, one copy of the Cavern of Soloth expansion, one copy of the Keystones & Keeps Expansion, a set of barrier walls and all unlocked stretch goals.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our Pledge Manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 235 or more
About $180

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CANADIAN DOLLARS approximately $181 USD

Queen of Storms Level [Castles ALL-IN + Catacombs Third Edition KS Exclusives ALL-IN] – At this level you will receive one copy of Catacombs & Castles base game, one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion, a set of barrier walls and all unlocked stretch goals.

Note: this reward level is equivalent to the ENGLISH language "Huntress" reward level with the ADDITION of the Catacombs Third Edition Kickstarter exclusive material. Some of this material, in particular RESURRECTION PACK 3 (the Ice Cavern game board) requires Catacombs Third Edition to use properly.

RESURRECTION PACK 3 **Ice Cavern game board** ($43 CAD approximately $33 USD) (Yes, it is expensive, but this will be a low run printing of this game board and the die cut tooling alone is going to be costly.)

TOTAL: $235 CAD (THAT'S CANADIAN, NOT US DOLLARS)
THE TOTAL PLEDGE AMOUNT IS APPROXIMATELY $181 US DOLLARS

The fine print: THESE THREE "RESURRECTION PACKS" WILL BE AVAILABLE SEPARATELY AT THE PRICES QUOTED ABOVE DURING THE PLEDGE MANAGER. Please note: we reserve the right to re-balance these quoted Canadian dollar prices for the Resurrection Packs during the Pledge Manager, if the value of the Canadian dollar decreases significantly versus the US dollar. This only applies for those are upgrading their pledges selectively to avoid purchasing material they may already have. These Resurrection Packs cannot be subdivided further during the Pledge Manager (example: you cannot buy the Zombie Horde by itself). Furthermore, you MUST back for a Vampire Princess or better reward level during the campaign to be eligible to purchase one or more of the RESURRECTION PACKS during the Pledge Manager.

The Kickstarter Exclusive material (the three Catacombs Third Edition RESURRECTION PACKS) will remain Kickstarter Exclusive. Please note: there is also "Backer Exclusive" material available during this campaign. This material will be available after fulfillment of this Kickstarter campaign from our website at a higher cost.

German language backers who would like this material, please back the Huntress GERMAN language reward and then add your desired RESURRECTION PACKS during the Pledge Manager. Please note, it is expected that this material will be in English only.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our Pledge Manager after the campaign.

Pledge CA$ 335 or more
About $257

Please read carefully as we have made every effort to be as transparent as possible.

one copy of the Catacombs & Castles base game,
one copy of the Catacombs™ 3rd Edition base game,
one copy of the Cavern of Soloth 3rd Edition expansion,
one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion,
includes a set of barrier walls (compatible with Catacombs & Castles)
and ALL unlocked stretch goals.
$199 CAD

RESURRECTION PACK 3 **Ice Cavern game board** ($43 CAD approximately $33 USD) (Yes, it is expensive, but this will be a low run printing of this game board and the die cut tooling alone is going to be costly.)

TOTAL: $335 CAD (THAT'S CANADIAN, NOT US DOLLARS)
THE TOTAL PLEDGE AMOUNT IS APPROXIMATELY $258 US DOLLARS

The fine print: THESE THREE "RESURRECTION PACKS" WILL BE AVAILABLE SEPARATELY AT THE PRICES QUOTED ABOVE DURING THE PLEDGE MANAGER. Please note: we reserve the right to re-balance these quoted Canadian dollar prices for the Resurrection Packs during the Pledge Manager, if the value of the Canadian dollar decreases significantly versus the US dollar. This only applies for those are upgrading their pledges selectively to avoid purchasing material they may already have. These Resurrection Packs cannot be subdivided further during the Pledge Manager (example: you cannot buy the Zombie Horde by itself). Furthermore, you MUST back for a Vampire Princess or better reward level DURING the campaign to be eligible to purchase one or more of the RESURRECTION PACKS during the Pledge Manager.

The Kickstarter Exclusive material (the three Catacombs Third Edition RESURRECTION PACKS) will remain Kickstarter Exclusive. Please note: there is also "Backer Exclusive" material available during this campaign. This material will be available after fulfillment of this Kickstarter campaign from our website at a higher cost.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our Pledge Manager after the campaign.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 650 or more
About $499

THE PLEDGE AMOUNT IS IN CANADIAN DOLLARS approximately $499 USD

King's Champion Design A Card Level (All-In): At this level you will receive one copy of the Catacombs & Castles base game, one copy of the Keystones & Keeps expansion, a set of barrier walls and all unlocked stretch goals.

You will help design a card of your choice for the Keystones & Keeps expansion and your name will be credited on the card.

Shipping will be calculated separately through our Pledge Manager after the campaign.